Although mounting evidence suggests that ceruloplasmin (CP) deficiency and iron deposition are pivotal factors responsible for exacerbating demise of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) of the Parkinsonism and neural stem cells (NSCs) are believed to be excellent candidates for compensating the lost dopaminergic neurons, there are few researches to explore the change of CP express...

Midbrain neurons synthesizing the neurotransmitter dopamine play a central role in the modulation of different brain functions and are associated with major neurological and psychiatric disorders. Despite the importance of these cells, the molecular mechanisms controlling their development are still poorly understood. The secreted glycoprotein Wnt1 is expressed in close vicinity to developing m...

Prokineticin-2 (PK2), a recently discovered secreted protein, regulates important physiological functions including olfactory biogenesis and circadian rhythms in the CNS. Interestingly, although PK2 expression is low in the nigral system, its receptors are constitutively expressed on nigrostriatal neurons. Herein, we demonstrate that PK2 expression is highly induced in nigral dopaminergic neuro...

Background and Objective: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurological disorder due to degeneration of dopaminergic neurons within pars compacta of substantia nigra (SNC). With regard to protective effect of Malva sylvestris (MS), this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of aquaeous extract of this plant in an experimental model of PD induced by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). Material...

Background and Objective: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a rather common neurological disorder in elders that is due to degeneration of dopaminergic neurons within mesencephalic substantia nigra pars compacta. With regard to protective and antioxidant effect of simvastatin, this study was conducted to evaluate its neuroprotective effect in an experimental model of PD. Materials and Methods: In thi...

Stem cell therapy for Parkinson's disease requires effective production of dopaminergic neurons. In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Sacchetti et al. (2009) report an unexpected role of liver X receptors and their ligand, oxysterols, in regulating dopaminergic neurogenesis.

ATP-sensitive potassium (K-ATP) channels couple the metabolic state to cellular excitability in various tissues. Several isoforms of the K-ATP channel subunits, the sulfonylurea receptor (SUR) and inwardly rectifying K channel (Kir6.X), have been cloned, but the molecular composition and functional diversity of native neuronal K-ATP channels remain unresolved. We combined functional analysis of...

Like many neurodegenerative diseases, the clinical symptoms of Parkinsons disease (PD) do not manifest until significant progression of the disease has already taken place, motivating the need for sensitive biomarkers of the disease. While structural imaging is a potentially attractive method due to its widespread availability and non-invasive nature, global morphometric measures (e.g., volume)...

Neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease (PD), are increasing in the aging population. Crucially, neurodegeneration of dopaminergic neurons PD is associated with chronic inflammation and glial activation. Besides this, bradykinesia, resting tremor, rigidity, sensory alteration, cognitive psychiatric impairments also present PD. Currently, no pharmacologically effective treatmen...

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors have been shown associated with neurodegenerative diseases. However, their effects on survival of dopaminergic neurons remain uncertain. In the present study, the HDAC inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) was tested in following dopaminergic neuronal cell lines: rat N27, mouse MN9D, and human SH-SY5Y cells. Results demonstrated that a single TSA treatment resulte...